Blood and Black Lace (1964)

Blood and Black Lace is Italian director Mario Bava's follow-up giallo to the highly entertaining The Girl Who Knew Too Much.  Usually highly regarded as a fan favorite by Bava and giallo enthusiasts alike I found myself scratching my head in confusion.  After the suspense, mystery and cinematographic beauty of The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Blood and Black Lace seems a like a rather average Italian thriller with systematic murders and very little plot.

The murder of a model named Isabella during a dark and windy night is the cataylist to a series of murders surrounding the women of a local fashion institute.  One by one girls are knocked off as the killer appears to be covering up a dirty little secret surrounding a diary that has secrets on the group, and what better way to shut them up than take them out one at a time!

After watching Bava's preliminary entry into the genre I'm rather confused at the love Blood and Black Lace ultimately receives compared to the stellar thriller I found The Girl Who Knew Too Much to be with an exciting plot and all around excellent execution combined with Bava's brilliance for combining cinematography, musical score and acting, Blood and Black Lace simply seems to be a step down.  It's true Blood and Black Lace seems to be the standard for what giallo ultimately becomes in terms of a slasher driven thriller, but having seen many of the giallo's that follow it's still a pretty average entry into the genre.  Despite the mechanical story and systematic killings it's ultimately still a decent Italian thriller with enough going for it to make it slightly interesting and the twist at the end isn't bad, but I feel this film is more popular based on it being the jet setter in the genre in terms of plot and style and not based on the quality of the film itself.

6/10 

Full Movie (In Italian)